Ennis Carter
BA, New York University

Ennis Carter is the founder and director of Social Impact Studios in Philadelphia. Established in 1996, Social Impact Studios is among the first and foremost creative workshops devoted exclusively to promoting important social issues. Carter is also the driving force behind Posters for the People, a “people’s initiative” to document and present the legacy of WPA posters the U.S. Government produced between 1935-1943 to promote New Deal programs and civic issues. She is the author of the 2008 book Posters for the People: Art of the WPA. Carter lives in Center City with her husband and daughter.

David Howey

Head of the Acting Program at the Brind School of Theatre, The University of the Arts

David Howey is Head of the Acting Program at the Brind School of Theatre at the University of the Arts. He was an actor in England for 30 years working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre Company, in London’s West End and in innumerable TV series and films. He has appeared on Broadway twice and performed Shakespeare across the USA, including Macbeth at the Annenberg Center, Prospero at Arcadia University and Shylock, Malvolio and Leontes for the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, for whom he has also directed Cymbeline and Julius Caeser. He has performed with the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Commonwealth Classic Theatre Company, Bristol Riverside, 1812 Productions, Interact, the Arden, Lantern, Sympatico, People's Light and Wilma Theatres and on several occasions with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He teaches the senior acting studio at the Brind School and regularly directs the students in school productions.

Ian Sampson

MFA, University of Delaware
BFA, Virginia Commonwealth University

Ian Sampson is a cartoonist and printmaker working in Philadelphia. He has been self-publishing and exhibiting his comics for over ten years and was nominated for an Ignatz Award in 2014. He teaches at several area colleges and was recently a resident artist at the Neighborhood Time Exchange West Philadelphia Artist Residency. He has degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Delaware.

Jordan Rockford
Curator, Educator and Creative Consultant
Lecturer, The University of the Arts
MLitt in Art History, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
BFA in Photography, The University of the Arts

Jordan Rockford has worked with a variety of archival and museum collections including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Civil War and Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia, and McManus Galleries in Dundee, Scotland. Past curatorial projects include creative development for Hidden City 2009, a city-wide festival of installation art based in historic sites, and exhibitions for the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, the Delaware Art Museum, and the Delaware Valley Legacy Fund.

Jordan serves on the Art Committee of the William Way Community Center, as a peer panelist for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and is a founding member of the artist –run project space NAPOLEON.

Kevin Mercer
Assistant Professor in Illustration, University of the Arts

Kevin Mercer is a freelance designer-illustrator and Assistant Professor in Illustration at University of the Arts. His work embraces the vivid, tactile feel of the screen printing process, layering shape and drawing-based elements with hand drawn and vintage type, collage and digital elements. His background in modern painting and printmaking fuels his design and illustration with a well considered sense of form, color and texture.

Kevin's experience includes a decade of designing and printing limited edition concert posters for local and national music acts, while delivering freelance illustration and design for a variety of clients, agencies and organizations. His work has been recognized by The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, and Print Magazine's Regional Design Annual.

Kevin’s work has been featured in a stack of books on contemporary design, including Paper and Ink Workshop (Rockport, 2013), 1000 Indie Posters (Rockport, 2011), Juxtapoz: Poster Art (Gingko Press, 2009) and The Art of Modern Rock (Chronicle Books, 2004). He has shown in exhibitions everywhere from basements to galleries and museums.

He lives in New Jersey with his wife and kids, where adventures never cease.

Eric Gershman
BA English- Temple UniversityM.ED- Arcadia University

Eric Gershman has been involved in both public and private education for the past 20 years. He is currently a member of the Language Arts Department at Springfield Township High School, where he has been an English teacher, Yearbook Adviser, and Senior Thesis instructor for the past 17 years. Additionally, Eric has worked at area synagogue educational programs as a teacher and youth group leader since 1997. Eric earned his Undergraduate degree from Temple University and his Master of Education degree from Arcadia University. He has previously taken both Level I and II courses in the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program at the University of the Arts and is, currently, a recognized Level III TPS Instructional Coach. Eric lives with his wife and three children in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Kenneth Kay
MS, University of Pennysylvania
BA, Franklin and Marshall College

Ken Kay's areas of concentration are multimedia, mobile devices, communication and conflict resolution. He is presently an adjunct at The University of the Arts, Chestnut Hill College and The University of Pennsylvania.

Lillian H. Pailen
BS in Music Education, Howard University
MA in Music Education, Columbia University Teachers College
D.A. in Community College, George Mason University

Lillian H. Pailen has 30 years of teaching and arts administration at the secondary and college levels. She has served as an arts administrator in two school districts and was a fine arts specialist with the Maryland State Department of Education. Lillian is the former director of the Maryland Artist Teacher Institute (MATI), an arts integration professional learning program for teachers and administrators. Pailen earned a BS in Music Education from Howard University, MA in Music Education from Columbia University Teachers College, and D.A. in Community College from George Mason University. She strongly believes in the power of integrated instruction supporting student learning across disciplines. This passion was sparked early in her career as a general music teacher, and later in her approaches to teaching music appreciation and clinical work in teacher education courses. This commitment to integrated instruction is what led Lillian to continue creating her own professional learning and growth by enrolling in the University of the Arts continuing studies courses sponsored by Library of Congress. Incorporating primary sources in classrooms is a way of bringing the curriculum to life in ways that support inquiry-based learning. It also supports learners becoming innovative and critical thinkers fluent in a broad range of literacies, including artistic literacy, media literacy, and multicultural literacy (21st Century Schools, 2014).

Kathryn Pokalo
English Teacher, Conestoga High School

Kathryn Pokalo has been teaching English in public high schools in the city and suburbs for over 20 years. She recently retired from Community College of Philadelphia where she served as an adjunct for 28 years, during which time she created and taught several online courses. She's been using primary sources in both literature and composition classes for much of her teaching career in both high school and college settings. Kathryn began attending UArts-TPS workshops and classes when UArts began offering them. She is grateful for the opportunity to work with UArts and the Library of Congress' Teaching with Primary Sources program.

Jodi Sabra is a sixth grade Social Studies and Language Arts teacher at Radnor Middle School where she incorporates her background experience as an actor and Artist in Residence with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Jodi is a member of the 2016-17 cohort of Teachers for Global Classrooms through the Department of State, and a board member of Global Village Connect, a non-profit organization that connects teachers with classrooms in rural villages.

Seirgaster L. Spells is an educator, author, artist, poet, and storyteller. Ms. Spells earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Management from Philadelphia University (formerly known as Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science). She acquired her Master of Science degree in Library Science and Information Studies from Drexel University. In the fashion of a true educator, she obtained her Secondary Principal Certification from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania and the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Certification from Temple University. Moreover, she completed additional educational training at Shippensburg and Saint Joseph’s Universities, respectively. She even expanded her knowledge-base and experience by taking advantage of a wonderful opportunity to serve as an Adjunct Professor in the Teacher Education department at Delaware County Community College.